This week has been quite the week for ZeptoLab, with their release of Cut the Rope, which has risen to one million paid downloads. It has immediately topped the app store with its realistic physics, beautiful visuals and engaging gameplay. You, the gamer, are entrusted into the care of Om Nom, a curious green creature who has an appetite for candy. Lots and lots of candy. I mean seriously, there’s got to be a disease from eating this much candy. As the title says, one must sever multiple ropes in order to feed Om Nom the candy. In our opinion, ZeptoLab has come a long way from Parachute Ninja, which had the same art style but very different gameplay. So, how does this puzzler compare with ZeptoLab’s former release?
Graphics: Great. It’s not often that we find an art style quite as smooth and realistic as ZeptoLab’s. Everything is beautiful, from the box background to the many different items and obstacles that can help or hinder you in the game. This is true eye-candy, if you will pardon the pun.
Controls: Simple to use; slicing cuts the rope, tapping pops bubbles, etc. For the most part, these controls are extremely easy to use. We found them frustrating at a few moments; for example, at some points, when attempting to perform an action, another action may be accomplished instead. We often popped bubbles accidentally when trying to drag a slider, if the bubble was close to the slider in question. For the most part however, these controls work quite well. We preferred the tilting controls of Parachute Ninja, although we understand that these are very different games.
Gameplay: Wonderful. 100 engaging levels provide excellent value, and each level contains a different and intriguing puzzle to wrap one’s mind around. The physics were excellent; the slicing motion is smooth, and the candy swings smoothly on its supports. Ropes can also be used as slingshots, much like Parachute Ninja. This is a great example of a great puzzler formula; take a simple idea, and develop many themes around the idea to keep it engaging yet simple. Cut the Rope excels on all of these accounts; also, having a character to center a small background story on (Om Nom) really added to the experience. This certainly deserved its 5 star ratings, in our opinion.
Recap: Angry Birds, it seems as though you have been finally stumped. This excellent puzzler combines a simple formula with great level design and realistic physics. At a price of 0.99, this one is hard to miss.
Graphics: 10/10 Controls: 9/10 Gameplay: 10/10 Overall: 9.5/10
Sincerely,
The Saber-Toothed Haggis
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